Mass Effect vs Mass Effect 2 [Review]

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

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Mass Effect 2 posters

Image by Derringdos via Flickr

“I just want to play this forever” – Mike (paraphrased)

My favorite game of all-time for the past decade has been Halo for the original Xbox. I’ve even written a good deal about Halo-related stuff (see Halo (PC), Halo: The Graphic Novel, Halo 2 (XBox), Why (Again) Halo is the Best Game Ever), though I really only love the first game. In fact, I play through Halo on Heroic difficulty at least once a year.

Finally, there’s something new to replace this tradition: Bioware’s Mass Effect 2.

I played Mass Effect (ME) for the first time and then Mass Effect 2 (ME2) back to back over a 3 week period and 70+ hrs of gameplay, finishing earlier this week, so I’m acutely aware of the differences between the games.

Mass Effect was a pretty damn good game. It reminded me a lot of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) for the Xbox, which was also made by Bioware. ME has great dialogue, characters, non-linear storyline, humor, graphics, and lots of stuff to do and explore (without being too open, in the sense that there’s no specific sense of direction).

That said, Mass Effect 2 blows the original away. After I finished ME2 this week, I thought to myself, I don’t want to go through ME1 again. It just doesn’t seem fun in comparison. Knowing that I have to (I want to make different choices in the first game’s storyline to see how they pan out) is depressing. The relative difference in games is like having to re-play a Japanese RPG with silly and frequent random battles and level grinding- yeah, play it once, sure, that’s fine. But twice, ah f*** no, too tedious. Secret of Mana for the SNES was my favorite RPG for a long time (I played it 15 years ago), and I still have never played through it again.

After playing ME1, I had a list of gripes that I didn’t necessarily expect to be fixed for the sequel. And I was okay with that. But ME2 fixes everything. EVERYTHING. Even things you didn’t think were broken were fixed, and while you may dislike some changes at first, when you think about them more, you’ll realize they make sense and Mass Effect 2 is better because of them.

Here’s another thought. Kyle didn’t like ME1 at all, didn’t really play it. Loves ME2.

When has a sequel been so much better than its original, that you can’t stand to play the first game anymore (but would love to replay the sequel)? I don’t mean like generational sequels, like Metal Gear for the NES and then Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation, these two Mass Effect games are two years apart on the same console. I can’t say this for any game. Definitely not the Halo series. I loved Halo 1, hated Halo 2, am okay with Halo 3 and Halo: ODST. Metal Gear? I own MGS 1, 2, and 3, and never got into 2 or 3.

Here are some notes on what Mass Effect 2 brings:

  • Autosaves: Fixed. Autosaves are frequent- you rarely need to save by yourself. Plus, saves are quick and don’t pause or disrupt gameplay.
  • Shooting Gameplay: Much, much improved. Feels much more fluid. You can consider it Gears of Wars-lite with RPG elements.
  • Ethical Questions: While ME2 still makes most decisions obvious in terms of good/evil, nice guy/dick, there are some situations that seriously challenge your inner beliefs as a person, that aren’t about right and wrong, they’re just about what you think is best. (If you have played ME2, remember the Krogan). I liked this a lot, I sat for 10 minutes thinking during one of the decisions.
  • Inventory: You don’t have to equip individual armor and weapons for everyone anymore, it’s much more simplified without losing that “I want to upgrade!” feel.
  • “Great dialogue, characters, non-linear storyline, humor, graphics, and lots of stuff to do and explore”: All still here in the sequel. Phenomenal visuals, technically, but also artistically along with a much more consistent framerate.

The only complaint I have is something that exists in most Bioware games (Mike says Dragon Age doesn’t have this problem): The Mass Effect games have a meter to monitor your decisions. If you do nice things, your Paragon meter goes up. If not so nice, then Renegade. But it’s always obvious how to pick the decision for either effect, and that’s what makes it too game-like for me. In KOTOR, your character would physically match your attitude. Be a dark son of a bitch, and you’d look evil.

I want a game that doesn’t explicitly tell you that what you’re doing is right/wrong/good/bad. I just want to make decisions naturally the way I might do if the game were real life, and I want the game to react naturally and not give me a meter to show me. The story and characters would just flow with you, and maybe in the end, there could be a summary about what kind of person you really are.

Black and White and then Fable supposedly promised that they would do something similar, but they didn’t- there was no subtlety in how you were affecting the game world. In life, most of us are clueless about how we actually are to the people around us, and how our decisions affect others around us. Let’s see that in a game! If I am a real dick in life, I want the game to pull that out of me. That’s true role playing.

Anyway, as I recommended to Jimmy, steal someone’s Xbox 360 and play Mass Effect 2. Who cares about Mass Effect 1. Don’t bother with reading reviews or whatever, just go into it fresh, play, and be amazed.

Mass Effect 2 is now the standard by which we’ll measure single player experiences, not just RPGs but story-centric shooters as well.

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13.02.2010 Reviews, Video Games 2 Comments

Buying Blu-Ray (HD) Movies in Vietnam [More on Piracy]

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Blu-Ray Disc logo

Image via Wikipedia

This blog has never been afraid to discuss piracy openly. (Notice I mention “this blog”. I, however, do not condone piracy in any way or fashion. “This blog” made me do it! I am innocent!)

Some examples: How to be a Digital Pirate in Vietnam, My Torrent Guide for You, The Escapist : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

Today, I want to share about the world of network media tanks, getting HD-quality movies on the cheap, and how to make this all happen. I won’t talk too much about the situation of piracy, having discussed those in detail in other articles. I also won’t get too technical about the discussion, just what 99% of the people reading this need to know to get things done.

The lowdown: getting HD movies in Vietnam can be quite affordable. Will these movies be the exact same quality as buying a Blu-Ray disc in the US? No. But pretty close for most concerning eyes (if you’re reading this article here of all places, you probably cannot tell the difference. I don’t even know if I can, for that matter, and I have a HD Player and Movies for my Xbox 360)

Getting movies basically gets down to getting a player for them (media tank), the movies (movie copy service), and of course, the TV.

Buying Movies:

3 Steps:

  1. Buy a Media Tank
  2. Buy a Hard Drive to Attach to Media Tank
  3. Buy Movies

Step 1, Buy a Media Tank:

A media tank is like a DVD Player or VCR. You connect it to your TV and it has the ability to play media. I have a WD TV hooked up to a Seagate 1.5 TB Drive. If you want to know more scroll to the bottom of post.

For a full list of Media Tanks available at Halo Shop in Saigon, see here: Media Tank List, Halo Shop. I generally recommend them for any purchases. They can speak English and they’re not so full of BS so you can take their advice for an easier process.

If you’re from Hanoi, sorry, I don’t know of any places in Hanoi, though I’m sure they exist- ask a local Home Theater shop, and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

A few more notes: Don’t bother getting HD movies unless you have an HDTV. There will be no benefit. Also, use an HDMI cable to connect the Media Tank to the HD TV. HDMI Cables should cost less than $10 USD- don’t be tricked into paying more. Lastly, if you’re not going to hook up a 5.1 (or 7.1/8.1/etc.) sound system to your TV, you should make sure the audio will be ok if you connect the Media Tank to your TV. Just ask “Can I use this Media Tank with my TV speakers?” With the WD TV, this isn’t a problem unless you are playing DTS movies, but scroll to the end of this post for more on that.

Step 2, Buy a Hard Drive to Attach to Media Tank:

You can buy these anywhere. I would suggest getting a package deal when you get your Media Tank, minimum 1TB Hard Drive, get 2TB if you can afford it. Remember, movies are 5-10 GB each, so a 1TB Hard Drive will store only 200 movies. Tank + Hard Drive may cost $400 to $500 depending on what you buy. Sounds expensive, but the movies themselves are extremely cheap.

Step 3, Buy Movies:

imageThere are basically 3 types of content: 480P (DVD quality), 720P (Hi Def), and 1080P (Bad ass Hi Def). You, for practical purposes, want 720P content. If you really think you need 1080P, read the section about buying a TV below. I do have a 32” 1080P TV, but I also sit less than 3 feet away from it.

One other thing to consider is that not that many movies are available in 1080P here, so not necessarily worth the extra cash.

There are two places that I consider:

  1. ChepPhim.Net: 199/19 Duong (Street) 3/2 F11 District 10, TPHCM. Movie List, ChepPhim.Net
  2. Halo Shop: 82 Pasteur, District 1, TPHCM. Movie List, Halo Shop

ChepPhim.net is cheap, fast, and has much more content available compared to Halo Shop. You can get 1TB copied for about $10 USD in less than two days. They update their movie list about twice a month and even have TV sets like Lost and Prison Break.

Buying a TV and Home Audio:

TV:

image I’ll make this simple- get a 720P TV. If you really think you may want a 1080P, read this article first: 1080p Does Matter – Here’s When (Screen Size vs. Viewing Distance vs. Resolution). If you have a family or plan to share the TV with someone else, unless you are just rich, get a 720P. A bonus about having a 1080P TV, though, is that you can use it as a 1920 x 1080 PC monitor.

For the record, I have a 32” 1080P from LG, and like I said before, I have to sit less than 3 feet away from it to take full advantage of 1080p movies, of which there are few. Most video games also max out at 720P.

Retailers:

Home Audio:

This one’s a bit tougher. I can’t really help here in terms of where to buy in Vietnam or what to buy. Try HD Vietnam if you can read Vietnamese. Otherwise, stick with the stereo TV speakers.

———————————————————–

About the Western Digital WD TV: [Quick Review and Tips]

I have the WD TV, the original version.

image

Some notes on it:

  • It’s cheap. I expect the original can be had for about $100 USD now in Vietnam. I don’t think the WD TV is sold at Halo Shop anymore.
  • Supports most video formats, but surprisingly, not .FLV or .WMV. I don’t use it for audio or pictures.
  • Overall, it’s okay. Not great. But a solid value for $100. The HDMI connection on mine is a bit loose, so sometimes there’s no signal, and the remote can be frustratingly spotty. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the machine won’t turn on or off, even when the remove is right next to the sensor. Once the machine starts recognizing the remote that particular day, everything is great.
  • Getting the new version (Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player) or the original (WD TV Live) is fine for most purposes. The 2 main additions in the WD TV Live are 1) DTS support and 2) Networking support. Networking support means you can hook it up to another computer and stream stuff rather than have to connect a Hard Drive to it. The DTS support, for me, is a bit more important, because many movies that I’ve purchased here are DTS-only and therefore result in no audio when using the original WD TV. There is a fix – you’ll need this to convert those movies with the PopCorn MKV AudioConverter (along with Tutorial for converting audio tracks with HeartWare MKV Audio Converter).
  • There’s an issue with some 1080P movies on the WD TV with movies that have too many Reference (Ref) frames. This is where we get a bit technical. If you run into this issue, you’ll have to re-encode the entire movie, which is a two day process. If you get a 1080P movie that seems to stutter, try to find a 720P version. Or get a different media tank. If you really need help with this, you can find the solution on forums online. My hint: I used a combination of MediaInfo and RipBot264 to fix The Dark Knight. I haven’t fixed any other movies yet.

Links:

  • Official Firmware: WD TV Product Update – you can probably ask whomever you buy this from to install it for you if you are non-technical, but it also isn’t so difficult.
  • Unofficial Firmware: B-RAD (Don’t worry about using this unless you want to spend a lot of time on techie stuff. A note about the unofficial firmware is that I still can’t it to work right with all the extra functionality people have developed for it)
  • More talk about Firmware and Stuff: WDTV Forum Homebrew / Custom Firmware

———————————————————–

Sorry if this post got a bit crazy, but hopefully it’s useful to someone out there. If you have any questions or want to send in your own recommendations and tips, please leave a comment!

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09.02.2010 Movies, Reviews, Tech, Vietnam No Comments

UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights [DVD Review]

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

“UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest FightsAnd here we go!!!!!!!!!!” – Mike Goldberg, announcer for the UFC.

I really like the UFC, but I’m a fairly new fan to it. I got into it starting December 2008 when Stephen invited me over to see it at his house. Over 2009, I slowly learned more and more, and then when the latest season of the Ultimate Fighter came out, it really kicked in for me at a new gear. Then, I learned about Spike TV’s show reviewing the best 100 fights in UFC history, and then the DVD set with all those fights got released.

Money –> Amazon = Done.

Description:

For 16 years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been the gold standard in combat sports. Now you can re-live the 100 greatest fights in UFC history with this once-in-a-lifetime collection. Featuring all the greats of the Octagon, from Royce Gracie and Chuck Liddell to Matt Hughes and Randy Couture, this set contains the most dramatic, explosive and memorable battles of the UFC in their entirety from 100 down to the greatest UFC fight of all time.

Since I’m not a UFC expert, I can’t comment on its value to someone who’s been a long time hardcore UFC fan. Also, in the US, I think you can just watch most of the UFC fights via cable, ppv or something, so maybe it’s not that big of a deal to have it compiled in a set.

For me though, since I’m mainly in Vietnam, and internet is a lot slower here, it’s a great starter set. I’m not sure if all the fights are really that great, but I can see that certain fights are in the set because of their importance as landmarks in UFC (for example, the Royce Gracie fights are boring to me, maybe due to presentation, but it’s good to see them there) history. I’ve seen other reviews state that fighters the UFC no longer likes get discriminated against in the set, such as Frank Shamrock. Nonetheless, I am happy with the set, and would recommend it to anyone who’s like me, not a long time UFC fan, but really interested in the subject material.

Other notes:

  • I like Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg as the announcers. I think they have good voices and do a good job of educating the audience (which is lacking in most sports announcing today). At the same time, when you start hearing them a lot, especially in succession as on the set, you can pick up certain things, like Goldberg and Rogan often using definitives and agreeing with each other, almost blindly. “Absolutely, Joe”.
  • Video quality and audio quality are quite good. No issues for me here.
  • Many more of that fights are from the last 4 years versus the previous 10 years. One reason is that there’s more frequent UFC events now than when the UFC first started. For the most part, I don’t like many of the older fights that are featured, anyway- I don’t know if I’m wrong, but I assume the skill level has gone up more and more, so I assume the competition level of more recent fights is tighter.
  • I wish there were more extras to the fights. For most fights, you just get the actual fights- a lot of footage before, between rounds, and after the event is cut. It’s hard to learn more about the fighters like you do during the actual UFC events.
  • 8 DVDs, over 16 hours of fights. It’s long. This is good, as it’s a a set that retails for $99.97.
  • The DVDs have no extra, just fights.
  • I’m not sure the 100 –> 1 countdown is the best way to organize the fights, especially when you have to consider that a lot of fights are a part of a series of battles, so you’ll watch them all out of order and learn who won previous fights inadvertently.
  • Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/UFC-Ultimate-100-Greatest-Fights/dp/B002GU65M4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262537962&sr=8-3
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09.01.2010 Reviews No Comments

Star Trek Exhibition at the Tech Museum San Jose [Review]

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Star Trek ExhibitOne of the first things I did after coming back to the US was go to the Star Trek Exhibition at the Tech Museum in downtown San Jose. Here’s the official information:

STAR TREK: THE EXHIBITION – the world’s most comprehensive collection of authentic Star Trek objects – features over 200 artifacts including:

  • An authentic replica of the bridge from the U.S.S Enterprise NCC-1701 as featured in the original Star Trek television series
  • Iconic gadgets from the Star Trek universe: a tricorder; a phaser, and a communicator – all from the original series. Devices that have inspired innovators of today.
  • The actual shooting model for the Borg Cube, as seen on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Voyager and in the movie Star Trek: First Contact
  • A chance to ride through a Star Trek adventure in a full-motion flight simulator (extra fee)

Sounds good right?

Unfortunately, I left disappointed. Even Mike, who is a much bigger Star Trek fan than me, wasn’t too happy with it.

  • I think the biggest negative to the exhibition is its price, $25 per person. That is a lot for a museum.
  • While it does have a lot of the gadgets and a ship bridge and the transporter, you’re not allowed to take photos anywhere. My sister snuck one in (above), but the security told her to stop. They offer a service to take photos at the bridge and the transporter for you, but those cost $28 EACH. To me, if you’re paying $25 per person, one picture should be free. I really wanted to buy a photo, but $28! I would have done it for $10.
  • It’s supposedly a 2 hr exhibit, but that’s only if you read everything. Carefully. It took us 45 minutes max, but maybe more like 30 minutes. 15,000 square feet for an exhibit is not as much as you would think when it’s mostly used for free roaming space.
  • There is not as much stuff as you would think.
  • I wanted to go on the flight simulator, but after seeing how much the pictures cost, I got disheartened.
  • The $25 per person does include the normal Tech Museum stuff, but after you do the Trek stuff, you so thoroughly feel like you were ripped off, you just want to go.
  • The gift shop is a great way to get people to buy stuff, but they were charging $40 for the normal bare bones edition of the DVD. You can imagine what other things might cost. My sister ended up buying a $3 can of Vulcan Ale (energy drink), but that’s it.

The price of having just one memoir (28 + 25 = $53) to remember the day was enough to make me not recommend this to others.

Star Trek Tech Museum

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23.12.2009 Movies, Reviews, Travel No Comments

Habitat Hostel (Singapore) [Review]

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

During my F1 weekend in Singapore, I stayed in a hostel for the first time, Habitat Hostel in Singapore (http://www.habitat-hostels.com.sg/). Habitat is well located near the Somerset MRT exit (which is near Orchard and all the main downtown stops- in fact you can walk to anywhere downtown within an hour).

My stay was about $62 USD per night, (booked through http://www.hostels.com/) which at first glance is really expensive for a hostel. But when you consider two things, 1) It was F1 weekend 2) Singapore is expensive for housing- the cheapest hotel for F1 weekend was about double the price, and that was when I had checked prices over a month before the actual weekend, it was not such a bad cost. At the same time, there are cheaper hostels in Singapore, and the costs don’t work out so well if you’re going with multiple people.

Not an issue for me, however, as I went alone.

Habitat Hostel bills itself at a boutique hostel, and that’s what made me try it out. I don’t feel like I’m really a backpacker type guy, and was always afraid I’d be uncomfortable at a hostel, but this sounded like a good middle ground for a first timer.

I really enjoyed my stay. Yes, I was only there to sleep basically, but the double/queen sized beds were really comfortable, and overall the atmosphere is quiet. There’s breakfast available any time in the kitchen, and there’s always a comfort of cleanliness everywhere in the house (in fact, you’re asked to take off your shoes before you walk in).

The staff is really nice (and remember your name) and understanding, and the people I stayed with were pretty cool too. No one was a jackass or anything. From their website, even for a person who had never stayed in a hostel, it sounded like they really paid attention to the details of creating a good experience, and after staying there, I can say it’s basically all true.

A very nice place I would certainly recommend assuming the price is within your means, and something that will open my mind to other hostels in the future.

Going through their website again for this review, I completely forgot they had a movie room (wasn’t shown to me while I was there)!

Their official description and some pictures I took below: (to see more photos, see my Smugmug: http://ispithotsoleyman.smugmug.com/M-2009)

HABITAT HOSTELS, Singapore’s only boutique flashpackers hostel, is the best choice for budget travelers looking for an environment of personal service, pampered luxury and chic furnishings, coupled with an excellent location.

Our fully air-conditioned rooms feature the unique first-of-it’s-kind pod dorms (to follow the Japanese pod-styled capsule idea) to provide backpackers with unparalleled privacy and personal space. The pod is self-enclosed while remaining spacious, and features its own reading light and a small ledge for personal items.

Capitalizing on personal service that includes regular social activities, games, outings and in-house themed parties (Popiah party, anyone?) will serve as an excellent icebreaker amongst guests at the hostel.

Habitat Hostel is housed in a 3-storey pre-war shophouse with a charming Chinese Baroque façade. We are the only hostel strategically located at Devonshire Road, just a 2-minute walk to Orchard Road – the epicenter of Singapore’s premium shopping and entertainment belt. Being located a stone’s throw away from Orchard Road and Somerset MRT stations gives Habitat Hostel the advantage of being easily accessible yet being away from it all. It’s rich heritage, charming ambience and relaxing atmosphere makes this the perfect location for a boutique hostel concept.

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14.10.2009 Reviews, Travel 2 Comments

GI Joe Promotions at Megastar, Hanoi [And Movie Review]

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

For the launch of GI Joe in Vietnam (Friday, August 14). Megastar hired models dressed as the characters to pose on stands at the theater. They had to hold their poses for 10-15 minutes a time, like statues, great for people to take pictures. It was a pretty unique promotion, I haven’t really seen anything like it where the models (also called PGs/Program Girls- PBs for guys I guess) stay still instead of interact with the crowd. I saw GI Joe at Vincom yesterday with Jimmy and Ha, and while Jimmy liked it, I thought the second half of the movie was just boring. I can’t imagine wanting to see sequels of this, and I’m disappointed how Destro and Cobra Commander came out. Even the movie’s special effects weren’t so good- I’m not sure if I’ve just become eagle eyed over the last few months but bad special effects or green screen work is becoming so obvious and annoying to me now.

Anyway, I thought GI Joe was a 5/10. Strangely though, while Jimmy liked GI Joe, Jimmy hated Transformers 2 (like most people). I actually enjoyed it more than the first one, so I am no judge on quality either.

To see all the pictures, visit my album on Smugmug. (Thanks to Ha for the pictures.)

    

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16.08.2009 Movies, Vietnam No Comments

My LG Viewty [Review]

Friday, May 29th, 2009

In the Wild A big cultural aspect of being in Vietnam is showing off your mobile phone (I’m used to calling it “mobile” and not “cell” as in the US now, even pronouncing it “mo-bye-il” instead of “mo-ble”), and finding good occasions to do so, like placing it on the table when you’re having coffee with someone.

It’s a little like showing off your car in the US. Of course, the same traps that you find with car owners in the US exist here as well. The not-that-wealthy are the ones who often have the most expensive phones, while the truly wealthy just don’t really care. That’s similar to how in the US, it’s not uncommon to see someone who owns a car that’s half the value of his home.

Incidentally, showing off your phone is also a good way to lose it. I have a number of friends who’ve lost phones after taking them out and forgetting them somewhere.

With the LG Viewty (KU990), however, I get the feeling that you may come to the cafe and impress whomever you’re meeting, but by the time you’re done talking, the phone will be so worthless it won’t be even worth stealing.

Some background: LG phones in Vietnam have been quite notorious for their rapid depreciation in price. While more recent models are known for nice aesthetics and solid features, the actual phone (you know, for calling) quality is questionable, at least from the standpoint of reputation.

As an owner of a LG Viewty, I can understand the LG stereotype. I bought my Viewty new from the US last December. I got it for an outstanding price, it ended up being around $150 USD from a good deal of combined luck, patience, and smarts (I didn’t say it was my smarts, did I?).

At the time I got it, The Gioi Di Dong (can be translated to “Cellular World”), one of the premier big mobile phone sellers in Vietnam, was selling the phone for 7.2 million VND, or about $420 USD. Sounds like I did quite well for myself didn’t I?

Today, 5 months later, you can get it from a number of dealers for less than $175 USD. That’s nearly a 60% drop in price in five months!

And it’s not even a bad phone!

  • Touch screen
  • Good resolution screen
  • 5 MP Camera
  • Pretty decent looking

You might suggest that maybe there’s a new model coming out that’s affecting the price. That is true, the LG Viewty II is coming out soon, but not that soon to Vietnam- I would doubt anytime this year in fact. I am just astounded by this, but let me actually tell you more about the camera. Like I said, it’s really not a bad phone
.


.It just isn’t a great one.

Review:

Protected and Hiding From a technical specs viewpoint, the Viewty is nice. Again, the 5MP Carl Zeiss-lens digital camera, external SD memory card support, very nice resolution screen, and touch screen. It’s not particularly thick or heavy (good things), and the phone is attractive at first sight. There’s even a qwerty touch keyboard you can use for SMS.

But:

  • The touch screen is a little slower than you like. Navigating menus isn’t annoying I’d say, but you always know there’s a lag. In the end, it’s the touch is more about the cool factor than it is a great replacement for the key pad. No multi-touch as in the iPhone. The interface does crash as well. Not a lot, but perhaps once every 6 to 8 weeks.
  • The qwerty touch keyboard only can be used for SMS. That may sound fine but remember when you need to edit or add new address books, add notes, or so anything with text. I have no idea why they did it this way, but it reduces the usability of the phone by at least half. The keyboard itself is pretty ok, but I get a good amount of typos if I’m not focused. I’m not sure if I can really blame the keyboard, or if it’s just me; I’ve never tried the touch keyboard on the iPhone so I can’t compare it.
  • The PC software that comes with the phone is outdated, it definitely isn’t customized for the phone or for the modern PC and phone. Thankfully, however, you can find a new version of it (LG PC Suite 3) through http://www.mygreatphone.com/forum/software-discussion/13205-lg-pc-suite-3-a-4.html. I just found it yesterday myself, and it looks like this new version has added SMS backup, but you can’t even download the software through official means, so imagine how many people actually have the software.
  • Limited SMS storage on phone. Not sure why phones don’t let your store as much as you have memory. I think some phones store on the SMS, which begs the question of why can’t you save it directly on the phone instead?
  • Wish there was a better filter/search (or “a” way) SMS messages
  • I wouldn’t say the phone is hard to use, but it’s slow enough and “dumb” enough in that it doesn’t encourage you to really explore all the parts of the phone and its features. Add to that my comment on the computer software that it comes with, and you’ll probably just be like me, using the phone mainly for calling and picture taking. I’m not a PC newbie by any means, but even I don’t want to put in the work to get media files working, cutting my own ringtones, etc.
  • A lot of apps and features built-in, but see my comment above- just don’t have the urge to play around with the phone in detail because I don’t expect it to be easy
  • Media files and music players aren’t just drag and drop into the phone, and then play on the phone. Expect trial and error, and tech support reading.
  • Built-in 3G support, but not Wi-Fi. Built-in browsers and web apps. The problem for Vietnam is we don’t have 3G.
  • The camera is considered one of the best 5MP camera phones available. I’ve read comments (on places like http://www.mygreatphone.com/forum/lg-ku990/) that people who don’t like the camera just don’t know how to use it properly. Perhaps that is true, but I never found any real “how to” guides on how take pictures properly with it. My overall impression of it is that it’s not bad. It’s still not as good as my 3MP Olympus Pocket Camera from 7 years ago, but it’s like a higher resolution version of the Sony Ericsson W800i camera (which were quite nice when they were released).
  • Battery life is, ok? It can last maximum 2+ days on standby. The real problem for me is that I don’t think the battery indicator is accurate- it either shows full or it’s about to turn off on you.
  • Call quality seems ok. I think I have more issues with MobiPhone than I do with the Viewty. I wish the phone were louder though. The strange thing is I have this issue with every phone I use, even if everyone else says the phone is quite loud. Am I deaf?
  • The video camera has a 60 FPS recording option. It sounds fabulous, but I still haven’t tried it yet.
  • This phone definitely belongs in a case. I would not expect it to last in your pocket battling it out with keys, but if you can find the right case (I like mine), it can add to the phone’s appeal. Incidentally, I got the case included for free with the phone, so it’s not like I live lavishly and indulge every fashionistic (not a real word) whim.

Overall, I do like the camera. I wouldn’t if I had paid $420 USD for it, but for $200, it’s a very good value, especially if you use like to use the camera.

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29.05.2009 Reviews, Vietnam 5 Comments

My Top Five Movies of 2008

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Rachel Getting Married

Image via Wikipedia

I started writing this post way back in December. I noticed I had watched a good deal of movies from 2008 and I figured I’d summarize the best of what I’d seen. Then I thought, why not make an effort to see almost everything substantial from the year and post the article later.

It’s now basically June. Oops.

So that took a while, not because there were just so many movies, but so many movies that I didn’t feel particularly motivated to see, even if they were considered good. Slow going.

The basic guidelines for me to watch the movie were basically,

  1. I wanted to see it (simple enough) OR
  2. Considered “good”, by IMDB + minimum X thousand voters or received Academy Award consideration

Disclaimers:

  • I am opinionated, but I’m also stupid, so I make no claims to what a good move actually is or should be, these are just things I liked better than others
  • I have a terrible memory when it comes to watching movies- I can barely remember why I gave The Bank Job an 8, and am almost inclined to drop it to a 7- scores definitely depend on my state of mind and mood

So let’s revisit 2008, based from my IMDB vote history:

My top 5 movies:

  1. The Dark Knight (ranked 10/10): Completely implausible in a real world sense, but absolutely plausible in a super hero world sense. Got snubbed in the Oscars because it was a super hero movie, but it’s much more than that- it’s the true nature of good and evil, there really is no “good” and there is no “evil”. It’s just relative to any given person or situation, in that moment of time.
  2. Slumdog Millionaire (9/10): I thought Vietnam was poor. Not even close. A great soundtrack, story, and hero you want to root for. Even Mike, the anti-romantic, liked it a lot.
  3. The Wrestler (9/10): Will convince you Mickey Rourke is not an absolute scumbag, and teach you everything you’ll ever want and need to know about pro wrestling. RIP Ultimate Warrior.
  4. Revolutionary Road (9/10): Will someone give Leo an Oscar? I liked Kate Winslet more here than in The Reader.
  5. Gran Torino (9/10): Let the racist in me like and appreciate the Hmong. Felt real.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order, I mention these because they left a particular impression on me):

  • Death Race: I really liked this. I ranked it a 7 on IMDB, yet gave Statham’s other movie The Bank Job, an 8, but would definitely rather see Death Race again before it. It’s just a well done action movie, I loved the spectator sport style (you’re the spectator), with ESPN and pay-per-view overlays.
  • Definitely Maybe: I love Ryan Reynolds. Mancrush love.
  • Kung Fu Panda: Surprised me how many Vietnamese people enjoyed this movie, clapping and going hysterical at the theatre. What jokes were lost in translation were somehow made up by hilarious reinterpretations along the way.
  • Taken: Full bore action with a simple lot. Not a dumb plot, just simple. Liam Neeson is a bad ass.
  • Get Smart: Really surprised me how much I enjoyed this. I really like Anne Hathaway.
  • Iron Man: In my book, it earned an extra rating point on just how well it ended. Why can’t more movies do something like that? It ended when you didn’t want it to end, not when you knew it was coming.
  • Redbelt: The last scene is just incredibly intense. And no dialogue!
  • Rachel Getting Married (poster pictured above): Along with Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Anne Hathaway puts in the best female performance I saw last year. Had no idea of what the movie was like going in.

Here are my rankings for movies released in 2008 (73 in all):

Movie Title Rating
The Dark Knight (2008) 10
Definitely, Maybe (2008) 9
Gran Torino (2008) 9
Revolutionary Road (2008) 9
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 9
The Wrestler (2008) 9
Bolt (2008) 8
Changeling (2008) 8
Frost/Nixon (2008) 8
Get Smart (2008) 8
Iron Man (2008) 8
Kung Fu Panda (2008) 8
Milk (2008/I) 8
Nothing But the Truth (2008) 8
Punisher: War Zone (2008) 8
Rachel Getting Married (2008) 8
Redbelt (2008) 8
Taken (2008) 8
The Bank Job (2008) 8
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) 8
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) 8
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) 8
Death Race (2008) 7
Defiance (2008) 7
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) 7
Hancock (2008) 7
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) 7
Horton Hears a Who! (2008) 7
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) 7
In Bruges (2008) 7
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) 7
Man on Wire (2008) 7
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) 7
Ong bak 2 (2008) 7
Pineapple Express (2008) 7
Role Models (2008) 7
Speed Racer (2008) 7
Step Brothers (2008) 7
The Incredible Hulk (2008) 7
The Reader (2008) 7
Traitor (2008) 7
Tropic Thunder (2008) 7
Tyson (2008) 7
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) 7
WALL·E (2008) 7
Yes Man (2008) 7
Appaloosa (2008) 6
Batman: Gotham Knight (2008) (V) 6
Be Kind Rewind (2008) 6
Cadillac Records (2008) 6
Maradona by Kusturica (2008) 6
Pride and Glory (2008) 6
Quantum of Solace (2008) 6
Rambo (2008) 6
RocknRolla (2008) 6
Seven Pounds (2008) 6
Sex and the City (2008) 6
Sex Drive (2008) 6
The Edge of Love (2008) 6
The Escapist (2008) 6
The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008) 6
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008) 6
21 (2008) 5
Burn After Reading (2008) 5
Eagle Eye (2008) 5
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) 5
Semi-Pro (2008) 5
The Duchess (2008) 5
Transporter 3 (2008) 5
Wanted (2008) 5
Yonkers Joe (2008) 5
Max Payne (2008) 3
Street Kings (2008) 3
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27.05.2009 Movies, Reviews 2 Comments

I Heart Biore Pore Pack

Friday, May 15th, 2009

P110509_21.50 (Small) I am not so cosmetically inclined, being a male and not cool enough to know my way around men’s beauty. I also have a fairly good complexion, though I would think you should by the time you’re 28 like I am now.

If there are two things I must have though (both are pictured- for some reason I always end up losing the chapstick wrapper), well there would only be one: chapstick. I don’t need high end chapstick, Walgreens-brand is just fine.

The other is Biore’s Pore Pack for Men, a little more optional for me, but I like it. I have a blackheads (on my nose) issue, though I am not sure why they’re not black. I guess they’re whiteheads? Why does this issue have to bring in race, I do not know.

In Vietnam, packs of 5 (use one a week) are sold for around 20K VND, about $1.20 USD. Worth it! In Hanoi, I’d get them from Citimart at Vincom. In Saigon, it’s been a bit harder for me to track down, but I did find them in District 2, at the drugstore on the second floor of the An Phu supermarket on the Thao Dien side.

The application is simple. Wet your nose. Apply sticker. Rub sticker to ensure adhesion. Keep for 20 minutes. Rip. Cry if painful (I never do though, because I am tough!). Repeat weekly.

To really ensure best results, though, I suggest applying one right after a shower. Don’t even wipe yourself dry- while wet, peel off the sticker and rub onto your nose. Dry yourself afterwards, hang out for 30 minutes to make sure the adhesive is as dry as possible.

Rip!

I would show you a picture of my results, but I think people are freaked out by stuff like that. I love looking at it though, it’s kind of amazing how more pores are suddenly clear. Each time I rip off the sticker, I want to see lots of clogged pores now cleared up.

The Pore Pack isn’t perfect by any means, however. Plenty of pores seem to be left clogged, especially on the front side of the nose, below the bridge. It’s much more effective with the sides of your nose, but overall, unless there’s a better product out there, I’m happy with the results.

Hey, Biore, do I get my free endorsement package now?

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15.05.2009 Random, Reviews 2 Comments

Attending The Star Trek Premiere at Megastar Hung Vuong

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

P090509_21.55 (Medium) Last night I attended the unofficial Star Trek premiere here in Vietnam along with Bi and Jimmy (That’s me on the right, Bi’s on the left).

It was unofficial because it’s actually not supposed to be released here for another two weeks, but Megastar did a semi-secret premiere event last night that I was able to attend- one screen for paid customers like myself, and the other for VIPs of Vietnam. Ended up seeing people I know like [name dropping] Aryeh and Landon on that side, and then later saw Johnny Tri Nguyen, Ngo Thanh Van, Dustin Nguyen, and other stars/rich people whom I simply don’t recognize. [/name dropping]

I’ll talk more about that later, but first the movie.

The Movie:

Star Trek – It is fantastic! It is truly an adventure, a roller coaster ride, whatever superlatives you see on typical BS reviews of so-so movies, Star Trek earns them. I really felt at times, watching on the big screen, this is what the movie theater is all about, the presentation, the experience, the visceral thrill. It is non-stop action, not even taking the time to have cheesiness built in (Michael Bay). It’s always serious, and it’s always fun. The movie is smart without being over your head sci-fi. Visually it is amazing, and something you can’t appreciate on a small screen, one of the few movies I truly feel this way about.

Before you think I’m just going off on exaggeration, I wasn’t really into seeing this movie before seeing the early reviews. I like Star Trek, at least the Next Generation decently enough, and have seen all the movies except for Insurrection. Of all those movies, I really only like Wrath of Khan and First Contact. I like JJ Abrams, but am not really a huge fan. Then, as the reviews came in, the consensus was this was quite good. My sister loved it as well. And then I got excited.

That said, whatever you currently believe that Star Trek is, this is not it. The essence of the characters is still there, but everything, you will be surprised. You will be delighted. It is a hero movie, but everyone takes part. This is a team. Every main character has a moment where he keeps the mission alive by doing something extraordinary. Not something extraordinary because the characters tell you it is, you can see it for yourself. You can tell that person is just amazing, and that it’s not just the Spock and Kirk show. It’s that true Communistic sense of Star Trek that was always implied, but perhaps never really executed that well in the show.

Jimmy says that Star Trek is action movie for an Obama time, positivity in contrast to the dark depressing moods of The Dark Knight. I agree and ranked Star Trek 9/10 on IMDB. It’s going to sell Blu-Ray players this Christmas, guaranteed.

The Premiere Event:

As great as the movie was, the execution of the premiere was lacking. I didn’t know yesterday was going to be a VIP event. In fact, I didn’t even know of the event. I just happened to be in Hung Vuong on Friday seeing Slumdog Millionaire with Thuy, and then I saw a poster for the premiere. No one else knew about it either; I was the first person to buy tickets to the show, and yet this was just 24 hours before the event!

That night, I went on the website to see if there was an announcement for the show. None at all. What’s odd is that the Megastar now (today on Sunday) has an advertisement for the Sneak Preview, which was probably put up last night or this morning. It’s advertising another sneak preview, though, one for May 19th, though it does mention the one I went to as well.

These previews aren’t cheap by any means. They’re roughly double normal ticket prices (which have been going up lately), close to US prices at 150K VND ($8.50 USD). I am okay to pay it, and I am sure there’s enough of an audience who can afford to pay those prices as well, but Megastar makes it so hard to actually attend.

They don’t:

  • Advertise the premieres well. Or at all. Almost in the sense they don’t really want your business.
  • Let you buy in advance, even at the theater itself. In Hanoi, I wanted to go on Wednesdays to buy tickets for a movie on Friday. Most of the time, they refused and said they couldn’t book tickets 2 days early. Are you crazy? I am willing to give my money now, and you’re saying no? Sometimes, I would come in Friday morning, and they still wouldn’t let me buy tickets.

Plus, as well as Megastar is doing in Hanoi at Vincom, they’re doing as bad in Hung Vuong in TPHCM. I’ve been here a few times on Friday nights, typical peak times. In Hanoi, it’s absolutely packed. If you’re trying to get tickets to see a hot movie 15 minutes before showtime, no way, go get a neck brace, and sit in the trash seats. At Hung Vuong, no problem. The facilities are just as good, if not better, but there is no way Hung Vuong is doing well. Slumdog Millionaire is supposed to be their #2 most popular movie right now, and I bought the first tickets for an 8:30 PM showing on Friday just two hours before showtime.

I have absolutely no brand loyalty to Megastar, even though I would want to. I want to give them my money, I want them to treat me like I matter, but they just don’t care! I go to Megastar because they’re my best option for now, but as soon as someone else does it better (not difficult), I’m gone.

Anyway, back to the event itself. When we got there, we realized there were quite a lot of people. I started to think that maybe in fact they really had advertised the premiere really well. The press was here, they tried to do a red carpet sort of thing and talk to various supposed celebrities I did not recognize. Before you came in, you had to hand over your cell phone. The reason for this, they said, was they didn’t want anyone leaking footage from the movie since the premiere time was the same time as in the US . He even said the Vietnamese equivalent of “syncing” premiere times. While I’m guessing this was at Paramount’s request, it seemed silly because 1) there already was a CAM version you could download by last night 2) no one is going to hold up their cell phone for 2 hrs to record the movie, it is impractical for a number of very obvious reasons 3) the release was not at the exact same time as in the US. My sister saw it a few days before me.

When we gave our tickets, they said we had the wrong screen, even though it was obvious we did not. Then, they said, they had switched our screen, so then we realized that all these other people in line had not paid for tickets, had just been invited for some PR purposes. Landon and Aryeh are famous VIPs, I am not.

That’s when we saw how many regular people really knew about the premiere. 25.

Fail.

Right before the show started, Johnny Tri Nguyen (#1 male star in Vietnam, by income) came in with Ngo Thanh Van and his entourage and sat 3 rows in front of us, probably sitting with us because there weren’t any good seats left in the other screen. Ngo Thanh Van is not so pretty with short hair, and was actually unrecognizable to me. The only reason I assumed it was her was as far as I knew, Johnny and her were dating. I didn’t think to myself, hey, it’s a really pretty girl, that must be Ngo Thanh Van! (At the end of the movie, when we went back to the lobby, we saw Dustin Nguyen talking to Johnny and other pip- probably important people)

The staff then came in to give away a Star Trek t-shirt and mouse. The man to my left won the mouse, and Jimmy and I were going to ask him if he would sell it to us. Right as he went back to his seat, though, before I could ask, he gave it to the kids behind us! Poop!

These same kids talked noisily throughout the movie, providing incredibly wise insights (“It’s Leonard Nimoy!”) as you might expect, and the one behind me kept kicking my chair. I wanted to wheel around and say something to him and his mother, but decided to leave it. That type of stuff, I expect out of Vietnamese people, truly, but this was a European family. What is wrong with people these days?

When I watched Slumdog the night before, the Vietnamese man to my left had terrible breath (or it could have been his feet, I really don’t know), and gave his director’s commentary to his wife next to him.

See, Megastar? You don’t really expect me to be loyal do you? I am almost happy to pirate something and watch it at home because the way you run your business, you deserve it.

Typical Vietnamese.

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10.05.2009 Movies, Vietnam 4 Comments